Author’s Note: I was unsatisfied with the previous version of this chapter, so I revised it a few times. (The last revision was Jan, 2008)

Chapter 2: A Lack of Colour

“Have you heard?” An excited arm jostled Anila, who opened one eye tiredly. The young man beside her was talking animatedly to the lady seated across from him.

The lady smoothed out the ruffles in her skirt. “About what?” she replied evenly.

“The murderer, the one who killed those soldiers, they’ve caught him.” Anila frowned at the loud man, and tried to block out the sounds around her. She really wanted to get some sleep before the ferry’s crossing was over.

The lady tapped one foot. “Yes, Yes, I’ve heard all about that. Coincidence is the only reason they caught him really.”

“Coincidence,” the young man scoffed. “They tracked him down. All of those damn Shifters deserve to hang!”

“Really now, such hatred.” The lady shook her head solemnly, and Anila’s heart speed up as man beside her tensed in anger.

The young man leaned back against the seat, and Anila winced as his body crushed right arm. “They’re killers, the lot of them. Once we wipe them out, we can live in peace again.”

Anila heard the lady’s skirt rustle, and assumed she must have stood up. “And were we at peace before? Remember our neighboring country, Kosune? Do you think they have completely left us alone? They are ready to do anything to get access to the sea. The Tanazi are a small group, and of little importance when compared to the threat of a whole nation. Good day. ”

Anila opened one eye again, and watched as the lady, clutching the overhead pole, staggered up the rickety stairs to the deck of the ferry.

The lady is right, thought Anila, ignoring the “hmph” of the young man beside her. The Shifters are a small group, but they seem more real, more threatening than a nation that is distant from our everyday lives.

The gentle rocking of the water lulled her, and she folded her arms on top of the wooden backboard of her bench. Back on Windcrest Island there had been some who shared the same sentiments as the young man, but none had ever voiced a wish to kill all of the Shifters. Such an extreme desire unnerved the black haired girl.

What if he found out about her?

Anila felt her breath hitch in her throat, and she hunched her shoulders protectively inward. Concentrating on her breathing, she internally berated herself for scaring so easily. Everything would be fine. She was just nervous because she had not been off the island for so many years. Turning her head away from the man beside her, she felt her body relax once again.

Everything would be okay.Nobody would ever find out. If she were careful enough no one would notice. If she listened to her Uncle’s advice, she would make it to her new home with little difficulty.

Maybe in the city she would see a Shifter?

She could almost imagine the dark form hiding in the shadow of a doorway. A small tremor of curiosity vibrated down to her toes. On the island, she had never seen a Shifter, but she had heard a lot about them. One woman had even blamed her daughter’s cold on a Shifter curse. They were supposed to be powerful, and filled with dark magic. She had heard that they kidnapped young children who wandered too far, but…She would ask her Uncle about them when she met him at the dock.

“Hey,” a hard jab on her shoulder jarred her out of her thoughts. She tried to ignore it. “Hey,” the man beside her jabbed her again. She shifted uncomfortably, and he knew she was simply pretending to be asleep. “Where are you from?”

“Just outside of Alsonsiedes,” Anila muttered softly into her arm, keeping her eyes closed.

It was not the full truth. Although she had been born in Alsonsiedes, she had lived on Windcrest Island for almost all of her life. But she was not about to tell the man that. City folk tended to get a bit arrogant in front of rural people like her.

“Alsonsiedes, eh? I’m from there too.” She heard him shift his weight until he was facing her completely. “What part?”

The hairs on the back of her neck and arms rose, and she knew he was staring intently at her. “Ah, Central…”

“Central?” The man shifted closer to her. “Which part of Central?”

“Highwalk Corner,” she tried to keep the inflection of her voice neutral.

The man moved away from her a bit. “I don’t remember that part of the city.” He frowned. “How long ago were you last there?”

“I don’t really remember.” She tried a smile. “It’s been awhile, and boring years kind of blur together, right?” She attempted a small laugh, which died miserably in her throat.

“So where have you been living for the past while?” He sounded genuinely curious.

“The Island,” she forced herself not to tense in expectation of the next inevitable words to leave his mouth.

“The Island,” he snorted rudely. “Besides the almost nonexistent port, it’s empty, why would you live there?”

She did not answer, and felt the shadow of his body lean over her to reach the latch of the window. A cool, refreshing breeze hit her face. She answered in her mind, because Uncle was too busy to look after a five year old. She sighed and opened her eyes. It wasn’t her uncle’s fault that she had been unable to stay with him. His job as a guardsman swallowed up many hours in a day.

“M-Mother of our soul!” The young man grabbed her roughly, startling her out of her thoughts.

The soft light coming through the window illuminated her eerie, bright eyes, and she froze in his grip. “I-”

“Your-Your eyes are violet.” His fingers dug painfully into her skin. “You’re one of them, a Shifter!”

The hate that darkened his gaze frightened her, and she struggled in his grip. “Let me go!” She pushed against his chest, and cried out in pain when he suddenly slammed her against the back of the benches.

“Do you know what your kind has done?” Other passengers were rising from their seats, concerned. “My father was killed by your people.”

“Come now,” another passenger let a calming arm fall on the agitated young man’s shoulder. “Leave the poor girl alone.”

“She’s a Shifter, a Tanazi.” The young man glared. People whispered amongst themselves uncomfortably.

“Where’s your proof?” the same passenger said patiently.

“Her eyes, their violet!”

“That does not prove anything. A Tanazi’s eyes are red, not violet, everyone knows that.” Some of the other passengers nodded in agreement, while others cast doubtful looks at Anila.

The young man relaxed his grip slowly, and Anila felt his fingers twitch unnervingly. She slid away from him and ran up the steps that lead to the deck, afraid of the man’s hatred, and wishing to see land. She skidded to a stop in front of one of the railings outside, and peered across the ocean. The wind whipped her black hair into her face, and a gull cried overhead. Through the fog she was able too make out a dark, looming shape, the water gate of Solemsiedes.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Leigh stumbled aimlessly through the woods. The spongy ground sank beneath his heavy feet, and sprung back up again as soon as he took another step. Overhead, the dark canopy of leaves shivered in the wind, generating a broken sound that barley touched the emptiness of the night. He felt light headed, and his hand was hot and swollen. The blood underneath his skin throbbed in a painful beat. Bringing his hand close to his face, he studied the small line of dried blood that marked the spot his mother’s dagger had nicked him. A bitter, overwhelming urge to laugh bubbled inside his throat.

She tried to save you, a dark voice suddenly droned inside his mind, freezing Leigh mid step. Shoulders tensing; he glanced around at the shadowed underbrush. You thought I had vanished, the statement echoed unsympathetically.

“Who are you?” Leigh said harshly, giving up on finding the source of the voice.

A humourless laugh filled his head. I am called Lilith.

“Why are you following me?” Leigh shifted his stance, and clenched his good hand around the blood stained stone.

Don’t even think of throwing that stone, Lilith’s voice hissed coldly, and Leigh felt a dark weight hover threateningly in his mind. Your mother gave it to you.

A sharp pain sparked to life at the mention of his mother, and he felt his throat constrict. “My mother wasn’t in her right mind when she put this into my hand.”

She sealed the contract with her life, and passed it on to her eldest child, you.

“Contract?” Leigh spat. “She never signed a contract with anyone like you.”

I was her only option. She was only able to contact me because she had reached the line between death and life. The boy scowled in disbelief. We have much to do, and I would prefer not to waste anymore time, because you have shortened your own time so drastically.

“We?” Leigh glowered. His hand throbbed painfully. “I’m not going anywhere with you. And I already told you, I could not have been poisoned from such a little exposure!”

Your body is infected.

“I’m not sick. I just scratched my hand.”

It is foolish to lie to yourself. Leigh opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted. You must rest before we continue.

Leigh fought off the sudden dots that covered his vision, and leaned against a nearby tree for support. “I couldn’t have been poisoned from such a little exposure. The scratch barely even bled.”

Lie down and rest Tanazi.

“No,” Leigh said bluntly.

Lie down, the voice grew colder.

Leigh didn’t respond, and tried to blink away the rapidly multiplying black dots in his vision. The will of the other wrapped tightly around his mind, slowly suffocating any present thoughts or emotions. Breathing raggedly, Leigh fought against the invisible bonds, and struggled against his increasing dizziness.

You will listen, the other’s voice was overpowering.

“No,” Leigh whispered, before stumbling forwards and hitting the ground, out cold.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The pungent smell of fish was heavy in the air, and shouts, hollers, and murmurs cut through the morning as people rushed about. A tall man in a black suit waved her over. Anila paused for a moment, peering through the morning fog. It took her a moment to recognize who it was, her uncle, Merari. Relief pounded through her, and she waved back. She stumbled down the wet plank of the ferry and landed on the dock.

Grinning, she weaved through the crowd, ducking under arms, and jumping over ropes, until she was able to wrap her arms around him in a hug. He froze, and awkwardly pushed her away. He coughed behind his hand, and Anila shifted uneasily.

“You’re no longer a small child Anila,” Merari shook his head at her.

“I know,” she said, and smiled. He did not sound angry.

He smiled back at her, but Anila felt her own grin falter slightly. She caught herself, and forced all the happiness she had ever possessed to show on her face. He looked away form her then, and led her down the noisy street and into one of the narrower, quieter alleyways.

How could she have forgotten his smile? She had hoped by now that his smile would have changed. She glanced at him while he was focused on the street in front of them. There were dark rings underneath of his eyes, and he seemed too pale.

Merari noticed her stare. He turned to look at her. “Keep your eyes down,” his voice was quiet.

She nodded and brought her gaze to her feet. Her uncle never looked carefree. There was a solemn air around him, even when he smiled. She wondered if he even knew what he was truly like. He always seemed as if a strong weight was wearing him down. Each time she saw him she hoped he had found a way to throw it off, but she always disappointed.

Stopping in front of a small house, her uncle ushered her inside. They sat down on opposite sides of a tiny table, and she dropped her pack from her shoulder. Silence settled. A clock could be heard ticking faintly from a back room.

“So,” Anila started, motioning to the three blue rings on the cuffs of her uncle’s jacket. “Were you promoted?”

He smiled, and traced one of the lines. “In a way,” his calm voice echoed through the empty house. Both were silent for a moment.

“I missed you,” Anila reached across the table, her fingers seeking his hand. His steel gray eyes softened, taking in the sight of his niece. Her windswept hair hung loosely about her shoulders, and her eyes sparkled in the light. Her eyes…

He suddenly frowned. “Did you remember what I said, about not looking at anyone directly?”

She smiled hesitantly. “Mostly.”

He drew his hand away from her. “Did you look anyone in the eye?”

“By accident,” she folded her arms across her chest. “It didn’t matter while I was on the island, nobody ever thought about the Tanazi there. And then on the ferry…most people don’t know what violet eyes mean.”

“Some people do,” Merari’s voice was cold, and Anila rubbed her arms where the young man on the ferry had grabbed her. “Some people know exactly what it means.”

“Uncle,” she said softly, but he refused to meet her gaze.

Merari’s hand sought hers. “I miss your father, Anila.” His fingers tightened. “You’re lucky you do not remember the night he died.”

Anila closed her eyes, and warded off a strong feeling of confusion, fear, and the image of a snarling wolf. Tattered fragments stitched together haphazardly, those were her only memories of the night her father died.

“Why did that wolf attack my father, and what happened to my mother?” She opened her eyes to find Merari staring at her.

“I’m not going to repeat something so horrid out loud, you must remember for yourself.”

The black haired girl suddenly stood up, her chair sliding back with a screech. “You always say this,” her voice was low. “Whenever I mention my mother you close up.” She waited, willing him to say something, but the house remained silent. “Which room am I staying in tonight?” her question was terse, and she leaned down to grab the straps of her pack. He motioned to a doorway on the right.

She had just turned to go when he called her name, “Anila.”

She looked back at him over her shoulder, and saw him drop something heavy on the table. Curious, the girl hesitantly reached out towards the object, her fingers halting a hair’s breadth over the top of the metal. It was a bracelet of a snake, an impossibly long snake, which seemed to weave around itself, the coils forming a circle. Its two crimson eyes shone, and Anila shivered. The black metal of its scales glimmered, and she felt her fingers fall onto the bracelet, her hand suddenly heavy. She flinched, almost expecting it to come alive and bite her, but nothing happened. Clenching the bracelet, she drew it out of the light.

“I kept if for you while you were away,” her uncle’s voice broke into her thoughts. “It was…your mother’s.”

“T-thank you,” Anila whispered, drawing the bracelet close to her, and heading towards her room.

It was small room, and contained only a bed and a dirty window. Seating herself on the edge of the bed, she drew the freshly washed blanket that was folded against the corner of the wall to her. Tomorrow she would be sleeping in her Uncle’s house in the city of Alsonsiedes, and not in some rundown temporary house in Solemsiedes. They would leave early in the morning, and the thought of more traveling made her suddenly weary. Leaning against the wall, Anila looked down at her hand.

The bracelet was cool in her fingers, and the glimmering eyes drew her in. She could imagine the snake flicking out it’s tongue to test the air. She felt herself relaxing, mesmerized by the glittering eyes, and before she noticed, she had slumped forwards, asleep. When her uncle came in to check on her, he rearranged her position so it was more comfortable, and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He never noticed that the metal bracelet had grown warm, hot even, in his niece’s hands, and left the room quietly.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

The sky was dark. There were no stars, only a vast, empty, never-ending pit. It was unsettling. A long shadow loomed at her back, and she hunched in on herself. She did not need to look over her shoulder. She knew what was behind her. It was a high, jagged cliff face.

Anila stood on a beach at the foot of the cliff. There was no way off the beach. She either had to climb or swim, and both were impossible, so she stood in place. The dark water rocked closer and closer. The tide was coming in.

There was no moon, and it should have been impossible to see, but she could. The world was leeched of most colour, and on the last thread of life. Everything was muted. The icy water rolled forwards and touched her toes. She shivered and stepped back, hitting the wall of the cliff. The sea retreated over the rocky beach.

Fear twisted her stomach. She would drown once the tide rose high enough. The current would pull her out, and the waves would pound her head against the rocks. She turned to the cliff, and craned her neck up. It towered high against the black of the sky.

She stretched a shaking hand up, and grabbed an outcropping. Taking a deep breath she lifted on of her feet to another. She waited a moment, before reaching out with another hand and her other leg. She managed to get eight feet off the ground before one of her handholds crumbled to sand and she fell, landing flat on her back.

The sharp rocks cut through her shirt, and her head rang. Her breath was knocked out of her. The water rolled up, and the salt stung her wounds, but she was too dizzy to move. All she could do was lay there until it passed. After a few minutes, she sat up carefully, groaning in pain. Something warm trickled down the back of her neck, and she lifted her hands to her head. There were lacerations on her scalp too.

She trembled, and the stinging water rolled past her legs again. Tears welled in her eyes, and she wiped at them with her wet sleeve. She took in a ragged breath that sounded more like a sob.

She was alone in the strange, silent world.

She sat immobile, and felt the rhythm of the water. It pushed, and then it pulled. The icy fingers of the current scrabbled against her wounds. She stared up the cliff, at the empty sky, and waited. The water rose higher, and higher. It was just above her waist, and she was starting to feel numb. Her teeth chartered, and her body shivered. At least there was no wind.

Something soft thumped into her side, and she looked down. A black, thread-like creature swayed with the current. She peered closer, and two red eyes peered back. She froze in fear. It was long and thin, about half a metre long, and had a small head.

A sea snake!, she thought.

It’s flattened tail swayed back and forth as it swam towards her. The black haired girl held her breath, and was still. She did not want to appear as a threat. The snake swam determinedly to her side, and it’s small head lifted onto her arm. Anila flinched. It’s body was surprisingly warm as it wound around her arm. It flicked it’s tongue once, before suddenly slipping down around her wrist, where it became eerily still. It had become her mother’s bracelet.

Warmth spread from her wrist and up her arm. It seeped through her bones, across her shoulders, and down her legs. She stopped shivering, and smiled. The surf retreated, and the water lowered around her body. She turned to watch as it kept rolling back into the distance, until all she could see was kilometers of sand. Her eyes widened, and slack jawed, she rose to her feet. She could not longer see any water at all. She sat back down again, and winced as her shirt rubbed against her wounds.

The sound of sliding rocks alerted her, and she turned around. Along the foot of the cliff a lone person was walking. Their steps were slow, but sure, and she could see that the person was heading towards her. She stood up again and tugged the edge of her shirt nervously. She felt happy to know that she was not alone, but she was more nervous and frightened as to what the person wanted.

As the person came closer, she saw it was a boy, and his expression was stormy. She became more worried. It was still a dark, muted world, and he stood out to sharply against the background. He did not fit in the world around her. Even his clothes were strange to her. He wore a muddy green tunic and an odd type of breeches that had ties at the ankles.

He stopped a few feet away from her, and his dark brown eyes gazed intensely at her. She quickly looked down. There was silence for a moment, and then she heard him draw a breath.

“What is this place?” The boy’s voice was hoarse.

“Umm,” Anila shifted her weight from foot to foot. “I’m not sure.” She thought for a moment. “It could be a dream…”

Confusion was clear in the frown that tightened his lips. “Why did you bring me here?”

“I didn’t,” her voice was soft.

“Then why are you in my dream,” he glared at her accusingly.

Anila tensed and looked up. She saw that he was not staring directly at her face, but rather an invisible spot somewhere near her ear. Her hands clenched around the hem of her shirt.

“I’m pretty certain this is my dream.” Anila offered an uncertain smile. “It seems a bit familiar to me, as if I’ve had it before, except I think this part is new. I wonder if I’ll remember it this time when I wake up in the morning.”

“How can you be sure this is a dream? It seems pretty real to me.” The frown on his face deepened.

He took a step towards her, and she skittered backwards. The snake bracelet grew hot on her wrist, and the serpent’s small head rose to stare at the boy with glittering red eyes, before settling back down again.

The boy took a step back. “That was…strange,” he said. He glanced up at the black, bottomless sky. “This whole place is strange.”

The boy sighed, and turned away. Anila watched him trudge wearily across the rocks, and saw him sit down at the bottom of the cliff. He leaned against the rough rock and closed his eyes. She waited a moment, and then decided to follow him. When she was less than an arm’s length away, she paused. His hands rested on the inside of his knees, and his forehead was furrowed in what appeared to be stress or pain.

“Hey,” Anila kneeled in font of him. “Are you alright?” The boy didn’t move, or make any motion that he had heard her. “You know, if you need a cup of water or something, I could always try to make some appear, if this is a dream and all. I mean, I don’t-”

“Shut up!” his voice grated on her ears.

Anila clamped her mouth shut, and sat silently in front of him. She frowned at the hunched boy, and the roar of the ocean could be heard in the distance. The boy sighed softly.

“Listen,” he said, looking up. Once again his eyes rested at an indeterminable spot near her head. He would not look in her eyes. Anila remained silent. “I just…need to sort out some thoughts right now.” He looked downwards, and Anila followed his gaze, her eyes landing on a clear coloured stone that rested in the swollen palm of his right hand. His hand was a dark red, and she could see a bit of dried blood from a jagged cut.

“What happened?” She found herself voicing her thought out loud.

“An accident, a scratch, nothing more.” He hide his infected hand underneath his good one.

She caught his wild eyes with her own, and was surprised to see barely suppressed fear darkening his gaze. He bristled, and glanced away quickly. Anila brought a single hand to rest atop of his own. He stiffened, but didn’t pull away. A long moment passed, a neither said a word. A tingling warmth spread through Anila’s fingers, and she glanced down at the stone, it was glowing slightly, and she wouldn’t have thought anything of it until the boy took in a sharp breath and stood up.

“It’s found me.”

“What?” Anila sat where she was, suddenly nervous as the last of the colour drained away from the landscape.

“The thing, the voice, I thought I had finally lost it.” He smiled bitterly at her. “I was wrong.”

“I-I don’t understand…” Anila stuttered, as a chill swept up her spine.

“You don’t need to,” his grim voice echoed through her dreamland.

Tanazi, Anila glanced sharply at the boy as a cold voice ran through her bones. The boy clutched the stone in his hand tighter, and Anila saw his knuckles whiten. I did not expect you to jump into another’s dream so soon. What a surprise you must have had, when your fingers caught on the living thread of this girl.

“What did you do to me?” The boy shouted.

I simply forced you to rest your body.

“Where is my body?” The boy said, and Anila saw the edges of his irises shift from brown to red. She stumbled away from him, fear coursing through her body.

Lying on the ground where you left it.

“Take me back!” His body was shaking with fury.

The snake on Anila’s wrist shifted and slithered up to her collar bone, leaving a trail of burning heat wherever it touched her body. Frantically, she tried to pull it off, but the stubborn serpent was stuck against her like it was her own skin.

“Ok,” said a new voice suddenly, right behind Anila, who spun around in surprise at the same time the boy lunged forwards.

Time seemed to slow for Anila, and she was unable to move fast enough to stop the collision of the boy and herself.

His hand neared her shoulder, and instead of stopping at her skin, she watched in horrible fascination as his fingers fell through her as if she was nothing but air. His arm followed, and his stunned gaze met hers right before his body ran through her in a blinding flash that dissolved her dream world like scattered beads of water. Roaring winds rushed in her ears, and she screamed as she felt herself being stretched thin over a great distance. With a sudden, jolt she was snapped back like an elastic band, and blacked out before a single thought had crossed her mind.